After a long period of heavy rains the slope gave way and a RhB train was caught in the slide.
The location is in a gorge with a dammed lake (hydro-power generation) at the bottom. Luckily the coach that was on the way down got hung up in the trees.
Four choppers in action, retrieving five with serious injuries and two more with less severe injuries.
Series of 15 pictures
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/panorama/vermischtes/Schweres-Zugunglueck-in-Graubuenden/story/26901922
And, in English.
BTW on the old HOm layout (in my previous life) the operating scenario called for slides and avalanche closures on that section of the layout.
(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/NA-Fora/TiefTunnel01_s.jpg)
Above train exiting the last tunnel before “Alvaschein”.
(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/NA-Fora/TiefenDerail01.jpg)
That’s what I was looking for regarding that derailment, I brightened the picture to get more detail. Hardly any damage to the front of the engine. Eeven the headlights are still intact.
The pole grounds the catenary.
That’s a rare occasion for the RhB. Unlike it’s US counterpart, Amtrak.
John Bouck said:
That’s a rare occasion for the RhB. Unlike it’s US counterpart, Amtrak.
Not really.
I can think of only two landslides that actually hit and derailed an Amtrak train. Granby, Colorado in 1985 and Everett, Washington in 2013. Pretty low number when Amtrak covers a heck of a lot more mileage then the RhB…and for over 40 years.
And yes I get that you are trying to be unnecessarily sarcastic in that Amtrak derails a lot.
Although not landslides, I forgot about the 1997 flash flood that derailed an Amtrak train near Kingman, Arizona and the 1999 earthquake that derailed one near Ludlow, California.
John,
3 years ago there was a derailment because a tame little creek overflowed big time during a thunderstorm in the Ruinalta (Reichenau-Disentis) and deposited all kinds of stone on a bridge.
7 years ago a Ge 4/4" hit a land slide, also in the Ruinalta, the engine looked pretty crumpled.
Despite the train density and regular control trips it happens. Railroading is tough in the mountains.
One advantage of the trains in Switzerland is that they run in deep snow conditions .
We planned to go to Andermatt over the Furka Pass by car . It was blocked for cars by an unexpected snow storm so we asked at the last station before the road disappeared if they could get the car on a train , and sure enough , they shunted a special wagon onto the passenger train and took us past the 20 ft deep snow . It cost cents more than the train tickets and we spent less on fuel for the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7L Special , so we were suitably impressed and pleased . The service arrangement around both stations encouraged this , there were made up ramps for loading and unloading . We also had a meal instead of driving .
I must look out the shots we took .
Mike Brit
Weeks of extensive rain saturated the ground completely. During the 12 hours prior to the derailment another 50 to 60 liters/square meter fell in that precise region. They haven’t determined yet if the engine hit the slide or if the slide hit the train as it came past (well, you already know what I think.)
Now all those improvements and the modernization on the network come in handy. In days of old - prior to building the 19+km Vereina tunnel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vereina_Tunnel - they would have to reroute the trains through Davos back to Filisur and then up the Albula line. All of it single track with longer distances between stations and a 4.5% grade from Klosters to Davos. The rest a tame 3.5%.
Apparently traffic will be back to normal by the weekend. Of the eleven injured nine remain in hospital.
So all they need to do is get bigger snow shovels
Mike Brit
The “Tiefencastel Slide engine” back in the roundhouse at Landquart. Better light shows a “bit more” damage.
She’ll be good as new in a short time.
Retrieving the last of the derailed cars.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QmPrhtX6b0[/youtube]
Quite some crane , well equipped , too .
Mike Brit
Chopper view of the slide area
TV report from the slide area (commentary in German!), preliminary conclusions on the sequence of events: “debris on the track (tree trunks and rock), engineer applies emergency brakes, the main slide follows after/while the engine crosses the bridge and takes the first three cars off the track; two of them down the slope.”
PS Traffic will be back to normal on Saturday 2014/08/16
I am impressed with the speedy reaction to the unfortunate accident , and also by the notice on the RhB Site (see link)
https://www.rhb.ch/en/current-service-information
I am now trying to find where the crane is kept .
Mike Brit
Unfortunately one of the passengers with serious injuries passed away.
PS
http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/ostschweiz/story/Schwerverletzter-stirbt-nach-Bahnunfall-17059202
The deceased: a 85 year old Swiss male from Canton Lucerne.
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Unfortunately one of the passengers with serious injuries passed away.
Ah , that sort of puts things into perspective .
Very sad .
Mike Brit
